Steering columns for motor vehicles, in which the steering spindle is accommodated rotatably in a bearing, customarily in a rolling bearing, in a steering column jacket, are known. The steering spindle serves to transmit a steering torque from a steering wheel attached to the steering spindle to a wheel to be steered. The steering column jacket is customarily connected here via a retaining unit to the chassis of the motor vehicle. In order to be able to adapt the steering wheel to the respective sitting position of a driver, it is furthermore known to be able to pivot the steering column jacket for height adjustment at its end facing the driver and to provide a longitudinal adjustment.
In order to rotatably retain the steering spindle in the steering column jacket, rolling bearings in which the steering spindle is accommodated so as to be rotatable about the axis of rotation are customarily retained in the steering column jacket. It is desirable in this connection for the steering spindle to have high axial rigidity with respect to the steering column jacket in order to ensure that neither the spindle nor the bearing are displaced in the steering column jacket in the event of a crash or in the event of a high degree of stressing of the steering wheel by the driver.
In principle, it is known from the prior art, for example from DIN 472, to provide securing rings for axially securing rolling bearings in housings. A disadvantage of such a securing by means of a securing ring is the necessity of the additional component in the form of the securing ring and a necessary machining of the steering column jacket in order to form the required securing ring groove.
CN 2009 77 941 Y discloses a securing of a rolling bearing in a steering column jacket by means of tabs extending in the direction of the axis of rotation, wherein the tabs are then bent over in order to secure the bearing. In order in this manner to achieve a play-free securing of the bearing, high tolerance requirements are imposed on the formation of the punched-out portions for the tabs and on the dimensional stability of the width of the bearing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,875 B1 discloses a bearing device in which tabs which are part of the jacket tube are provided for engagement in a groove in the outer ring of the bearing, wherein the tabs are bent into the groove in order to retain the rolling bearing. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide the rolling bearing with a circumferential groove.